Talks on forming a Palestinian national unity government were suspended because Fatah was not serious about resolving the violent crisis threatening to tear Palestinians apart, a senior official of the militant Hamas group alleged today.

Hamas and Fatah gunmen battled each other across the Gaza Strip early today, attacking security compounds, knocking out an electrical transformer and kidnapping several local commanders in some of the most extensive factional fighting in recent weeks.

European Union leaders endorsed a plan today to channel aid to cash-starved Palestinians focusing on health, power supply and support for needy families while maintaining a funding freeze on the Hamas-led government.